Black Wings in the Sky
by thewindinthemeadow
Summary: Sam is trapped in a forced marriage with an angel he's never met but fears. And Lucifer is anything but nice to him, sometimes. A relationship unlike what either of them wanted eventually grows into something real that they can hold onto. Samifer fantasy AU.


**I know it looks like Jess/Sam for a while, but that's just in the first half of the first chapter, promise. The rest of the story is all Samifer.**

The sky was obscenely bright. It felt like an insult. Like it was taking John's side and telling him to grow up and get past the fact that everything he'd ever wanted was falling hopelessly apart with no chance of ever getting repaired. He could hardly believe this was happening.

Sam didn't ask for much, he didn't think. He wanted to properly finish his education and be allowed to choose what path he took in life. As his father's younger son, he hadn't thought that could be much of a problem. Dean would take over the throne of their little kingdom, and Sam would be unimportant. He would just be free to live his life.

But no. John had to decide that the best way to seal the treaty with the angels was to make Sam marry one of them. So he was, completely against his will, engaged to Prince Lucifer, a man he'd never even met. It was the worst thing that could happen to Sam. He'd rather work as a stripper and sleep in the dungeon then marry somebody he didn't know. The worst part? He was in love with a girl named Jess, and until the whole engagement to Lucifer thing came up he was planning to someday marry her. Now he'd have to leave her in a few days, and he'd most likely never see her again.

He knew the marriage would be horrifically unequal, and he'd heard horror stories of Lucifer's cruelty. That was all he had- those stories. They made him want to vomit. It was better than knowing only a name, but- maybe being clueless would've been easier. All he could do was pray that the stories were exaggerated or Lucifer would ignore him. Maybe Lucifer didn't want this any more than Sam did. Maybe they could just agree to stay away from each other and pretend to be married. Living alone in another realm, way up in the mountains, couldn't be that bad, could it? Hopefully?

Sam's fists suddenly clenched. How dare John force him into an unwanted engagement with someone he'd never even had a chance to meet. Who treats their son like that? He should just run away before the marriage ceremony. It might not work, but then again it might. And Sam didn't care about the kingdom or his father. If him running away had some horrible effect on the treaty and a war started, it would be John's fault for forcing Sam into something so horrible he'd want to run away.

The plan for the ceremony just might leave Sam an out. He was supposed to wait for Lucifer in the dead of night, out by himself on an empty hilltop. If he fled the hilltop before Lucifer showed up, maybe he'd be able to get away and the marriage wouldn't happen. Or- he'd heard he did have a part to play in the marriage ceremony, so if he put his foot down and refused to go along with it then it couldn't happen and they wouldn't be married. He wished he had some idea of what was going to happen. The uncertainty was terrifying.

Running away was a good idea. It gave him something to hope for. If he could escape, then life could be ok again. Maybe he'd find Jess and they could elope together. Or he'd just race off by himself and find a place where nobody would recognize him. He could start over. He'd miss his family, of course, but it wasn't like he'd have them any more if he married Lucifer. John had already taken family away from Sam. There was no way to get through this and keep an attachment with anyone- except maybe Jess, if she could handle leaving everyone she knew behind for Sam. He needed to talk to Jess.

Sneaking quietly out of the palace was easy for Sam. He'd been successfully sneaking out since he was four. Only Dean had ever caught him, and he'd never told anyone. As far as everybody knew, Sam just vanished for a few hours moderately frequently. Maybe they thought he was out in the garden or in the library. There were a plethora of places he could innocently be, far too many to check thoroughly. Anyway, he went out to see Jess.

It wasn't a long walk to her house. Sam knocked lightly on the door and waited. Jess' mother answered the door. A smile immediately lit her face when she saw it was Sam. The Moore family all liked Sam. Sam thought Mr. Moore's reason for being nice to him might be mainly that he was a prince, but Mrs. Moore liked him because he made Jess happy. Jess didn't have any siblings anymore, but when they'd been there they'd both been friends with Sam, even if they weren't always pleased with him for dating their sister.

"Hello, Mrs. Moore," Sam said politely. He tried to smile, but he wasn't quite sure it worked.

"Hello, Sam," she said, her smile fading. "Let me go get Jess."

It was a minute before Jess got to the door. Sam's lips trembled a bit on seeing her. She caught sight of his face, and her eyes clouded with worry. She hurried over to him.

"Sam? Babe, what's wrong?"

Sam stared down at her miserably. "We need to talk."

Jess looked scared. "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

Sam wanted nothing more than to tell her that her fears were unfounded, but it wouldn't be true. "Walk with me," he said. His hands were shaking, but his voice stayed steady.

Jess paled. She walked silently by his side, head down a little.

Sam stayed quiet, desperately trying to come up with a way to tell her that would be sure not to crush her. The problem was that there was no good way to say something like this. His usually quick mind skipped through a million things he could say, but he couldn't _say_ any of them. He was far too afraid of hurting her. He knew he'd hurt her with his, but- how could he say something like this? How on earth was he supposed to tell his girlfriend that he was engaged to somebody else and wanted her to run away with him so he could escape the engagement?

Finally, it was Jess who broke the silence. She took Sam's hand and pulled him to a stop, moving so she was standing right in front of him. He couldn't not look at her, now. He stared at her miserably. She stared right back, pale but determined. "Whatever it is, Sam, you can tell me," she said. She squeezed his hand. "We'll get through it, alright? Like we always have."

Sam bit his lip. He opened his mouth to explain about the engagement and Lucifer, but what came out was, "Run away with me."

Jess stared at him. "What brought this on?" she asked. "Sam?"

Sam closed his eyes for a moment before opening them determinedly. "My father arranged a marriage for me," he spat out. "I'm leaving town, tonight at the latest. I'm not some toy he can just pawn off to seal his stupid treaty!"

Jess' mouth fell slightly open. Her hands fell to her sides, and she turned away a little.

"Jess?" Sam asked. It almost sounded like a plea. "Say you'll come with me. Please."

"Tonight?" she asked. Her voice was devoid of emotion.

Sam nodded. "Yes."

"I-" she hesitated. She suddenly spun around to face him again, pulling him down by his shirt collar and kissing him roughly. It took him a moment to respond, but then he was as eager and desperate as she was. It wasn't a sweet kiss; more teeth than lips. But it was full of harsh, passionate emotion. They pulled apart when they ran out of air. Jess was panting and she looked tired in a bone deep way that scared Sam, for a moment. "Alright, Sam," Jess said. "I'll run away with you. When and where do I meet you tonight?"

Sam's smile was weak, but it felt real. "How about the weeping willow," he said.

"Our place," she whispered. "Agreed. I would like to visit it with you, one last time."

Sam breathed out heavily. "We'll both need a few hours to get everything together. Sunset?"

Jess nodded. "Sunset works," she said shakily. "I'll see you then. And, Sam- I love you."

It wasn't the first time she'd told him that, not by a long shot, but with all the pain and chaos happening around them it felt as precious as the first time. "I love you, too, Jessica," he said. "So much it hurts."

And then he was kissing her again. It was supposed to be a short kiss, just a peck on the lips, but it turned into something much longer and deeper than that. When they finally pulled apart they were both gasping for breath.

"I love you," Sam repeated.

Jess hugged Sam quickly before pulling away. "I love you," she told him as she walked away. "I'll see you at sunset."

"I love you," he whispered, knowing she was too far away to hear him. "I love you so much."

Sam spent the rest of the day in something like a waking dream. He was detached and distracted, not acting like himself at all. The only thing that could ground him was that Jess had agreed to come with him. He wouldn't be alone if she was there. Life was safe if Jess was beside him. He felt like together they could fight off anything. She would keep him from falling apart.

At sunset, Sam was waiting under the weeping willow's floppy branches. They ghosted around him and waved gently in the light wind. The light was fading. The sun fell across the horizon. And Jess still wasn't there. Sam got impatient and scared from waiting so long, and Jess still wasn't there. It was well into the twilight time after sunset when Jess finally showed. She wasn't wearing anything like traveling clothes, and she had no luggage with her.

Jess found Sam sitting cross legged at the water's edge, staring down into the depths of the water. She walked over to him and sat down beside him.

"You came," he said finally. "I thought you wouldn't."

"I-" she hesitated. "I nearly didn't."

"You changed your mind, didn't you," Sam said softly, turning to face Jess.

She stared at him miserably. "I can't run away with you. I'm not cut out for that kind of life, Sam. I love you, but it's over."

Sam struggled to keep his face impassive. "Alright." His voice sounded strange to his ears. Weak. Broken. He took a slow breath, trying to compose himself. "Fine. That's fine."

"I'm sorry," Jess said.

"You're right; you should stay with your family," Sam said tensely, not looking at her. He stood. "I'll just run away from my father and Lucifer on my own."

"Wait," Jess said. "Did you say- Lucifer?"

Sam nodded. "Why? What's it to you?"

"Sam-" Jess' voice was almost pleading.

"You dumped me; I'm sorry if I'm a little snappish with you right now," Sam snarked angrily at her.

"Well, this is important," Jess said. "Lucifer is the most ruthless and sadistic of all the angels who've made contact with humans."

Sam sighed. "And where'd you hear that?"

"He's the one who killed Alice and Robby," Jess said.

That made Sam pause. "Your siblings? But- I thought they just disappeared. Nobody ever knew what happened."

"That was just the official story," Jess said tiredly. "Your father didn't want to compromise the peace treaty he was negotiating with Michael, so he kept it quiet. But Lucifer killed them. He's singlehandedly responsible for at least two thirds of the human casualties in the Angel-Human War."

"Do you know anything else?" Sam asked. His voice had gone from angry and hurt to blank, dead. It was like Jess was talking to the mechanical version of her ex-boyfriend.

"He hasn't only killed humans," Jess whispered, like it was a dirty secret. "I heard he killed his own brother, just because they got in a fight."

"Did you hear why?" Sam asked. "I mean, it's hard to imagine a motive for fratricide, but…?"

"Gabriel was the youngest of the set of royal children," Jess reported. "I heard they loved and spoiled him, but- when he started dating a mortal girl, Kali, Lucifer blew up. He hates humans. He killed Kali, even though Gabriel tried to stop him. And then he killed Gabriel in an act of petty vengeance. He's a monster. Please say you aren't marrying him."

"I'm _running away_ , Jess," Sam snapped. "Or I was going to try. I think you ruined that for me." He turned and walked away.

Jess sat there, trying not to cry and wondering how everything in her normal life had been turned upside down so quickly.

Sam stormed back to the palace and hid in a storage cellar. He was hoping they wouldn't be able to find him and he would miss the marriage ceremony. He was scared. He was terrified of Lucifer, and he had no motive at all to want the marriage to happen. John could find somebody else to use as a pawn. He didn't have to use Sam.

But Dean knew his little brother too well. He went down and checked the cellars, first thing. He found Sam easily, when there was still plenty of time for the marriage to happen that night. There were three hours until midnight, when Sam was supposed to meet Lucifer on a hilltop well outside of the area humans ever went to.

"Sammy?" Dean asked. "Dude, are you crying? No chick flick moments."

"It's Sam," Sam growled.

"Sorry, Sammy," Dean snarked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "What is it?"

"You're kinda getting married? Dad wanted me to find you," Dean said.

"And you're the obedient little soldier, huh?" Sam asked. "Cuz dad cares so much."

"He's our dad," Dean argued. "He deserves a little respect."

Sam laughed bitterly. "I'll respect him when he earns it."

"He shouldn't have to earn it," Dean said heatedly. "He's Dad."

"He forced me into an engagement with an angel I've never met," Sam snapped. "A great demonstration of his fatherly love."

"Sam-" Dean sounded tired.

"Don't 'Sam' me, Dean," Sam said. "Dad's never been a father to either of us. I don't know why you put up with it."

"Can we not fight?" Dean asked pleadingly. "You only have a few more hours, and then- I don't know when I'll see you next."

They both knew they'd probably never see each other again. Neither of them could say it.

"Don't worry about me, Dean," Sam said. "I'm sure Lucifer's not too bad. I'll be fine. Just- make sure you're ok, alright?"

Dean nodded miserably. He tried to say something but couldn't seem to get the words out. Sam hugged Dean, and Dean hugged back for a very long moment. He finally pulled away, saying, "Bitch."

"Jerk," Sam replied, smiling at his brother.

Somehow, the talk with Dean made everything seem a little less grim. Yes, Sam was going away and marrying a most likely evil and abusive guy he'd never met before. He would probably never see his family again, and death might be an easier fate even then this one, but he could be at peace with it. And maybe Lucifer really wouldn't be so bad. There was always hope, right? Sam could hold on to that hope.

The castle where Sam lived was a ways away from the border, but Sam made the trip alone. The border was indistinct; it seemed the angels moved it according to their mood. There was nothing the humans could do about it, so they stayed away. Most people who even ventured close to the border seemed to vanish.

The territory was new, but John had had a servant carefully describe it to Sam. They didn't want him to get lost and accidentally miss Lucifer. Sure, tomorrow night would work as well, but John was worried Michael would take it as a betrayal if anything went wrong between Sam and Lucifer. Sam honestly didn't care if Michael took it as a betrayal. Oo, scary. Ugh. He hated politics.

So maybe he did care a little. It was hard to lie to himself. If Michael thought John was betraying him, the war would restart. War meant Dean would be in danger. Jess as well. So Sam really did care. He felt like he had to go through with the marriage. He wished he didn't care. It would be so much easier if he could just run away from all of this.

Sam found the hill he'd been told to wait at the top of and started climbing. It was steep and rocky, and the sand and rock pieces slid down under his feet. It was a little nerve wracking. A bigger rock slid under his foot, causing a small land slide. He floundered in the darkness, trying to get a grip on something stable as he fell. Eventually he stopped sliding and he was able to sit up and take stock of the situation.

It was hard to see in the dark. There was no moon, so he had only the stars for light. He could feel that he was thoroughly bruised all over, but it didn't seem too bad in any one place and he didn't seem to be bleeding. He was almost back at the bottom of the hill again. It was horribly discouraging. He didn't want to have to climb up all that way again.

The climb was long and hard. Sam fell two more times, but he never slid as far down as he had the first time. At the top of the hill there was a neat stone circle about twenty feet across. Sam stood uncertainly at the edge for a moment. A stone shifted under his feet, tossing him down into the circle. He stood up nervously. The ground shifted like there was an earthquake, knocking Sam off his feet again and farther into the circle.

He guessed there was magic at play and decided not to fight it. Instead, he crawled on his hands and knees to the middle of the circle. He found a star symbol etched into the stone there. He didn't know what to think or what he was supposed to do. He checked the time based off the position of the stars. It was about fifteen to midnight. Shouldn't Lucifer be here by now?

Sam stood, but the ground started shaking again as soon as he did so. He was expecting it, so he was able to stay on his feet at first. The quakes continued and increased in strength until they knocked him down onto his knees. He tried to shift to a sitting position, but that made the quakes start up again. Apparently he was supposed to wait for Lucifer on his knees. It was an annoyingly submissive posture, one that made him feel uncomfortable and scared. This wasn't a good start.

About ten minutes later, Sam finally saw something. A shape in the sky. Sam wasn't used to being able to see angel wings, but he could see the wings on this angel clearly. The angel glided down and landed gracefully in front of Sam. He was tall, but still a little shorter than Sam. His features were gentle and would've looked innocent on anyone else, but his face was closed off and his eyes were cold as he studied Sam. His eyes were a bright, clear blue, a color Sam liked in other circumstances. His wings were the deepest shade of black Sam had ever seen, but they were elegant and fluffy. Obviously the angel spent plenty of time making sure his wings were in perfect condition. His dark blond hair was coarse and messy, something Sam might've found endearing if it wasn't _Lucifer_.

Sam wasn't at all uncertain of who he was looking at, but when he said Lucifer's name it still came out as a question. "Lucifer?" Luckily his voice didn't tremble.

It was a long moment before Lucifer replied. His voice was confident and clear. "Sam."

Most of the obvious things to say when you run into a stranger you're terrified of wouldn't work for Sam here. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't even know if he was allowed to get up yet. And Lucifer was just staring at him like he expected something from him. But Sam didn't know what it was, so he couldn't- he couldn't make this work. Why wouldn't Lucifer say something? What the hell was supposed to happen anyway?!

Lucifer must have read something on Sam's face. "Humans," he complained softly, bringing one hand up to rest it on Sam's cheek. His fingers were cold, but that wasn't why Sam shivered. "Touch my wings," he said. It was a command.

Sam's brow furrowed. He wasn't sure he was willing to do something without first knowing what was going to happen and why he should do it. But- Lucifer's wings were beautiful, and the temptation to touch had been building since the moment Sam had first laid eyes on them. They looked so amazingly soft and sleek. He had to know if the feel could live up to the appearance. So Sam timidly lifted one hand and rested it carefully on Lucifer's feathers. For an instant the touch was light and tentative, but then some magic took hold of Sam. His fingers felt like they were electrified. He found himself burying both hands in the long feathers. He forgot to breathe. He was lost in Lucifer. Sam only came out of it when he nearly fainted from lack of oxygen. He was dizzy, and his vision was blurry.

Lucifer took a step back. "Get up," he ordered calmly.

Sam wasn't sure he could get up at this point if he tried, but he didn't think he wanted to. It was worth potentially causing an international incident to make it clear to Lucifer that he was not going to just roll over and obey his every command. Sam scowled at Lucifer and crossed his arms. "Why?"

Lucifer leaned down to stare into Sam's eyes. "Do you like kneeling for me?" he asked, a seductive tone to his voice. "Cuz I can work with that, Sam."

Sam stood up so fast he nearly fell over. He was spluttering while desperately trying not to look phased, so, yeah, it wasn't working at all.

"Whoa," Lucifer said. "Breathe, kiddo."

"I'm not a kid," Sam snapped, suddenly angry.

Lucifer shrugged. "Could've fooled me."

Sam growled and kicked at the stone floor.

"Temperamental, huh?" Lucifer asked, grinning at Sam. "Don't worry. I'll have you trained properly soon."

Sam's eyes narrowed, and a shiver of fear tore through him. "What are you talking about?"

Lucifer just laughed.

"I'm not your pet," Sam said, a note of desperacy in his voice.

"We'll see," Lucifer said. "You're only human, after all."

This was about the worst case scenario Sam could've come up with. He was terrified. The terror came out as anger. "We're married, Lucifer. Married. I'm not your toy. We're equals, and I have just as much right to live my life the way I want it as you do to live yours."

Lucifer raised one hand and clenched it into a fist. Sam's chest started hurting badly enough that he fell to the ground in pain. He coughed up blood. He was gasping and choking; everything was agony. It had to stop. Please stop.

Lucifer knelt beside Sam and spoke softly to him. "Equals, Sammy? I don't know about you, but I'm not really seeing much of the whole equality thing here."

The pain let up as Lucifer relaxed his hand. Sam slumped on the ground, exhausted and dizzy and just generally done with everything that was happening. Sam was only partially aware of what was happening as Lucifer picked him up, flew him a ways to where Lucifer lived, and set him carefully on a bed. Sam felt gentle fingers card through his hair, and then some of his clothing was removed. He was tucked up in warm, safe covers, and arms were around him, protecting him. He let himself feel safe, for a moment. And Sam fell asleep in Lucifer's arms.

 **I'll be happy to continue this if anyone is interested. Comments or just follows and favorites are highly appreciated.**


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